February 9, 2012

China to reopen market to Canadian beef 

Canada and China on Wednesday (Feb 8) signed a series of cooperative agreements to boost bilateral trade, including the immediate resumption of Canadian beef and tallow exports to China after a nine-year hiatus.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao witnessed the signing of new joint initiatives and the renewal of existing bilateral initiatives between the two countries in the areas of energy, natural resources, education, science and technology, and agriculture.

"The agreements being signed today, in such a wide range of areas, are further testimony that we are taking relations to the next level and further strengthening our strategic partnership," Harper said.

The Chinese market for both Canadian beef and cattle was closed in May 2003 following Canada's first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Following extensive technical negotiations, Canada and China reached an agreement in May 2011 which restored access for Canadian deboned beef derived from animals under thirty months of age.

The new Protocol Between the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Quarantine and Health Requirements for Industrial Beef Tallow to be Exported from Canada to China, signed on February 8, 2012, represents the next step of the 2010 Cooperative Arrangement.

It stipulates conditions for access of Canadian tallow for industrial use in China and clears the way for the immediate access to the lucrative Chinese beef tallow market by Canadian processors for the first time in almost a decade.

In 2002, Canadian exports of tallow were worth more than CAD31 million (US$31.16 million), which made China the top export market for Canadian tallow. In 2010, China imported over US$400 million in tallow from countries around the world.

China is one of Canada's most valuable rapeseed export markets. In 2009, China restricted imports of Canadian rapeseed seed due to the presence of blackleg, a fungal disease in rapeseed. While a transitional agreement granted by China in November of the same year allows temporary and limited exports of rapeseed, Canadian and Chinese governments and industry continue to work toward a long-term solution.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed by Prime Minister Harper and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, allows for Canadian-funded joint research to be conducted in Canada to provide a better understanding of blackleg and assist officials in mitigating the risks to Chinese crops associated with the disease. The MOU, which is effective immediately, is part of an on-going strategy to achieve a stable trading environment with China for Canadian rapeseed.